Torkian nabs $145M loan for Upper East Side development

The Torkian Group picked up a nine-figure construction loan for its project taking shape on the Upper East Side.

Hersel Torkian’s firm landed a $145 million loan from Valley National Bank for its development at 250 East 83rd Street in Yorkville, according to documents reported by PincusCo. Signature Bank previously provided a $15.7 million loan for the project.

Torkian last year filed plans to build a 23-story mixed-use property on a quarter-acre lot at the corner of East 83rd Street and Second Avenue. The 171,000-square-foot property is expected to include 6,500 square feet of commercial space.

A representative for Torkian told The Real Deal there will be 128 residential units — 22 more than the initial project filing suggested. The inclusion of affordable housing is possible, but unclear.

Excavation is progressing and foundation work would likely begin in the winter, New York YIMBY reported last week. Amenities are expected to include a gym, rooftop lounge, theater and a children’s playroom.

SLCE Architects is the architect of record for the building, which is expected to open in the fall of 2024.

The development is a stone’s throw away from Naftali Group’s new development at 200 East 83rd Street. Naftali signed 58 contracts with a last asking volume totaling $422.6 million at the property last year, making it the year’s best-selling new development.

The Torkian Group has a handful of properties in Manhattan, including Solari in Midtown South, Greenwich House Lofts in the Financial District, the Cameo NYC in Hell’s Kitchen and the York in Midtown.

In 2019, Torkian agreed to pay the city $300,000 to settle claims the landlord wrongfully marketed and leased illegal short-term rentals at three buildings, including the Greenwich House Lofts. Representatives for the developer said it didn’t have any “involvement whatsoever with any alleged illegal activity perpetrated by certain tenants.”